Iron Will
by For the Longest Time
Summary: The Reapers have been defeated. The galaxy struggles to rebuild their shattered homes. The Systems Alliance finds itself against an old enemy, one that will stop at nothing to avenge the death of his nation and people. And there will be no Commander Shepard to save them this time.


_January 15th, 2187_

_0600 Hrs_

_SSV Aconcagua, Arcturus System_

_Vice Admiral Masudo Yamamoto_

The reconstruction of Arcturus Station would take five years. That was what the guesses were of the engineers assigned to rebuild the destroyed station. Nobody could see it be done in less time. The lifeless husks of 45,000 bodies that still lingered around the destroyed remnants of the station had been given a decent burial back in their respective countries back on Earth. Now the battered remains of the Third Fleet lingered around the refit ships of the Alliance engineers assigned to the station.

The admiral had awoken two hours prior, bathed quickly and prayed. He ate a small breakfast in the mess hall where few crew members were, since most were either sleeping or rotating on their shifts. Normally, an admiral would eat with the other officers, but Masudo was a man that didn't see the class differences between enlisted and commissioned officers. The admiral had enlisted as a crewman, rising up in the ranks, and along with famous members of the Navy such as Steven Hackett or Hannah Shepard, became a commissioned officer following the First Contact War. The young Japanese officer then climbed through the officer ranks before he had been appointed commander of the SSV _Aconcagua, _one of the newest dreadnoughts in the Alliance Navy.

He had been content to remain a simple captain but that was before the Reapers attacked. His dreadnought had been instrumental in slowing down the Reaper capital ships, destroying one destroyer and slowing down a Sovereign-class Reaper before the order to retreat came. The _Aconcagua _had been a part of the Second Fleet, but that was before the entire fleet had been sacrificed to give the Third and Fifth time to escape. When the _Logan _had been destroyed along with Admiral Nitesh Singh, he had been the one to take command of the Third Fleet, allowing him to escape the destruction of the Second. Promoted to Rear Admiral, he had commanded the Second throughout the war, earning a reputation as a daring commander and master tactician.

Now with the Reapers gone and most of the Alliance Navy destroyed in the war, the reconstruction had begun. Relief ships from colonies not touched by the war had reached Earth, while all other species began to tend to their own wounds. Earth was still a burnt remain, with over four billion dead alone, and countless missing. The first major reconstruction efforts were settled around the hardest hit places, such as London and Vancouver, while cities like Hamburg, St. Louis, and Tokyo were also being reconstructed.

Communications were spotty at the best of times. When the Reapers came, they tried to destroy all comm buoys and communication satellites. Some survived while most of them didn't, leaving Earth and Arcturus nearly blind when it came to their colonies. With elections coming up soon, individual ships such as the _Trafalgar, _a Normandy-class frigate, had been sent to planets such as Benning or Eden Prime to reestablish communications. Only a few QECs were still operational, while the Council was still rebuilding the Citadel.

The Third Fleet was barely at half their combat strength. The Alliance Navy had lost half of their fleets in the first few hours of the war, while losing other ships against Cerberus and pirates. The battered remains of the Third Fleet were centered on his dreadnought, one of the four still in operation, the others destroyed.

Cerberus was still a pain the ass for Masudo. When the Fifth Fleet had engaged the main Cerberus fleet over Cronos Station in the Anadius System, they had destroyed the advanced ships Cerberus had, because the SSV _Everest _main gun dealt with them with ease. Now he had a third of his fleet stationed near Benning, because some rogue cell of Cerberus was still attacking the damn planet. Fleet Admiral Hackett had also dispatched a flotilla to hunt down the cell, but they were like ghosts, striking when they damn well pleased and disappearing.

"Still a pain in your ass, eh Admiral?" his executive officer, Captain Frederick Williams, asked, sipping on his cup of tasteless coffee.

"Yes, they are still trying to attack Benning. We have not been able to find their main base of operations. With the leadership of the main Cerberus cells decimated, we have been conducting clean-up operations with N7 teams. But those _yoko bari _still attacking Benning...it will take time to destroy them," Masudo said, resigning to a sigh.

"Well, reconstruction is being sped up. We just got a ship laden with twenty tons of titanium. Said it was gift from someone. Ship unloaded it then bugged out faster than you could say boo. Shaves around three months off the schedule," Frederick said, stretching himself out. The captain was a carefree man when it came to regulations, though he did adhere by _most _of them.

"Any news of Earth or the galaxy worth of noting?" he asked, switching the subject.

"Eden Prime has reestablished full communications with us. The communications hub at Ontarom is now fully under our control after Cerberus tried to attack it. Oh and it appears that the Terminus Systems under Aria T'Loak are rebuilding their fleet and we got a note from her government declaring the Terminus, Aria's for life. I don't know about you Admiral, but when a known hardass like Aria T'Loak declared their independence and is centered around Omega...we can expect some trouble there. Nothing but a day's work, eh admiral?" the Captain quipped. The serious admiral stared at his subordinate with his deep brown eyes. His stare was as effective as a drill sergeant's to a recruit. The captain's smile disappeared.

"Eh, also Fleet Admiral Hackett is going to meet with representatives from all the galactic powers on the Citadel. He's leaving Admiral Alvarez in charge of Earth. Looks like even the quarians and the krogan are being invited. Seems like after the krogan saved the turians behind and the quarians helping save the galaxy means that they get a new lease on life."

"Thank you Captain. I will be reviewing reports. You have the bridge."

"Aye sir! I have the bridge!" Frederick exclaimed, before saluting him.

The Japanese admiral returned the salute with practiced ease. As he was about to exit the bridge, a startled shout came from the bridge.

"Admiral sir!" the communications officer on deck shouted with worry evident in her voice," We have an incoming transmission coming from the _Trafalgar!"_

"Put it on the screen," Masudo said, his body moving with a grace of a younger man. The admiral sat down in his chair to see the face of the commanding officer of the _Trafalgar, _an experienced sailor by the name of Munir Al-Bakura. The Arab's face was full of sweat as he appeared on screen.

"Admiral Yamamoto! This is urgent. There is an unknown amount of ships coming to the relay connecting Eden Prime to the Arcturus System. They're moving fast! They just completely ignored us! They're going to be in system soon!"

Masudo didn't know who they were. But an unknown amount of ships coming towards Arcturus System didn't bode well for the under strength Third Fleet. With barely eighty combat capable ships, a third of those ships in the nearby system, they might be heavily outnumbered. And who was it? Cerberus? A pirate fleet coming to take revenge on the Systems Alliance? The batarians? Aria?

"Commander Al-Bakura remain where you are and activate stealth if you haven't already. I need you keep tabs on anything that happens in that system. And where the hell is the Seventh Fleet? They were supposed to be over watching that system!" he exclaimed. The officer just shook his head.

"Admiral Shepard were responding to a distress call by a group of civilian ships and jumped out of system. She fired off a message to Earth just a few minutes ago. She left me and two other frigates to watch over the planet," Munir explained.

"Very well. Commander, keep hidden and send me any more information that you can. I'll contact you when the ships are dealt with."

"Aye, aye sir!"

_Who are you mysterious ships? _

Cutting the communications channel, he contacted the comms officer, a wily lieutenant who had served on the _Everest. _

"What's their ETA?" he asked quietly. lt was prudent to know.

"Sir, estimated time of arrival is thirty minutes. Not enough time to get reinforcements from Earth. We're cut off from communicating the fleet at Benning and the Fifth Fleet back on Earth. I'm sending off messages to the rest of the colonies and reachable fleets via the comm buoys," the communications officer informed him. The lieutenant took the initiative. Good man. Smart too.

"Where is our QEC connected too?"

"It _was _connected to Arcturus Station, but the engineers dug it out and sent it the Migrant Fleet as a thank you for saving their behinds back on Earth."

The Migrant Fleet? That was what had happened to the other QEC? The engineers might have thought that the dreadnought had been destroyed and would try to reconfigure the QEC for the Migrant Fleet.

"That's back on Rannoch. They'll never make it in time. But see if you can connect me to the Migrant Fleet. If they answer, tell me and I'll take it in the comms room."

"Aye, sir!"

_The Migrant Fleet. It was only a few months ago that they were the vagrants of the galaxy. Now they have the mightiest fleet and the geth on their side. How times have changed. _

The Migrant Fleet had the least amount of losses following the firing of the Citadel. With peace between the geth and the quarians holding and even thriving, the Council had taken steps to bring them back within the galactic fold. There were talks about the quarians having their embassy reinstated. Millions of quarians had lost their lives and their numbers still remained perilously low.

He glanced down at his watch. Twenty-five minutes until the unknown ships hit Arcturus Station. His mind raced to figure out what to do. The station had to be defended, but so did the relay heading to Earth. He couldn't contact the ships around Benning. So he was on his own. His dreadnought was the only heavy capital ship left in the system except for the SSV _Napoleon. _The heavy carrier was one of eight still in service, two assigned to each surviving fleet, except for the Third Fleet, which only had one.

"_Twenty-five minutes left. _Relay commands to the fleet that unknown ships will be entering the relay in twenty-five minutes. Inform all captains to assume battle stations. Sound General Quarters. Gunnery officer, get the MAC ready. Ready the GARDIAN systems and javelin torpedoes," shifting his view to the tactical display of the fleet, he contacted the captain of the _Napoleon_," Captain Walker, I want recon drones and fighters screening the mass relay. When they emerge, confirm if they're friendly or hostile."

"Aye, aye sir!" the captain saluted and Masudo terminated the connection. There was much to do.

"Sir, Admiral Hackett is on the horn. The frigate carrying him to the Citadel, the _Midway, _is five mikes out. He wants to speak to you via tight beam."

"Reroute it to my private channel."

"Aye, sir."

His private communications channel was connected to his data pad, so when the video of Hackett shot up, he appeared on the data pad.

"Masudo. It's been awhile," the stern admiral said rather quietly.

"Admiral Hackett. I would advise against going to the Citadel. There are a number of unknown ships heading towards Arcturus Station. I'm dealing with it as soon as they hit the relay."

Steven Hackett was silent. The man had also gained a reputation as a heavy hitter, using his fleets to hurt the Reapers anyway he could. He had also overseen the Crucible Project and the fleets attacking Earth. Now he was in charge of the entire Systems Alliance until a new Parliament and human councilor could be nominated. He was the top man. Any mistake, _was his mistake. _

"How many minutes are they away from Arcturus?"

Masudo looked at his watch. Twenty minutes.

"Twenty minutes sir. I have the Third Fleet ready but the Seventh and Eighth are out of contact and won't be here in time," Masudo said truthfully.

"I shall proceed. With Udina, Anderson, and the Admiralty Board dead, I'm the most senior government official left in the Alliance. We need humanity represented at the Citadel. Make sure that these unknowns are contained. There are five billion humans on Earth. That is what remains of our race. Don't let them down," Hackett advised. Masudo's heart rate started to jump. He glanced at his watch. Eighteen minutes.

"Sir, I'll defend Earth to the best of my ability. I hope that these unknowns aren't hostile, but if they are, I'll make sure that they don't reach Earth."

"Good. Hackett out."

And with that, the relay connecting the Charon Relay to the Arcturus System was activated, bringing a small frigate, which the sensors picked up as the SSV _Midway, _a Normandy-class frigate, zoomed ahead, heading for the relay connecting it to a relay that would bring it to the Serpent Nebula, where the Citadel was located. Three minutes passed. His heart was racing. Nervous. He had to remain confident. He faced _Reapers _for God's sake! Took down many of them with the Second Fleet.

"_Sir! _Eden Prime-Arcturus System Relay is powering up! SSV _Yorktown _and SSV _Berlin _are responding, along with the recon drones and interceptors from SSV _Napoleon. _Fighters are ready to be launched on your command sir," the communications officer said from his position on the bridge. Masudo adjusted his position, shifting his view to the tactical screen.

The screen showed the SSV _Yorktown _and SSV _Berlin _heading towards the relay, with three flights of interceptors and recon drones from the _Napoleon _right behind them. Their stealth drives were operating and the only way he could keep track of them was via their IFF signal. He watched with anticipation as the commander of the SSV _Yorktown _communicated through tight beam to him.

Then two hundred and fifty contacts sprang through the relay and he immediately noticed the four dreadnought sized ships at the far end of the formation of ships. Most of them were cruiser size, not unlike his own fleet.

"Sir, we are not receiving any transmissions or any communication attempts at all from them. Should we open fire?" the commander of the _Yorktown _asked. The ships were similar to his own ships. That was intriguing. Who were they?

"Not yet. Your stealth drive is active, correct?" he asked impatiently. The commander nodded yes. "Screen them. Forward all sensor data to each ship in the fleet. I want to know what these ships are and what armaments they have."

"Yes sir!"

Not a minute after he ordered that, the sensors officer updated his tactical screen. The ships were not old though they were not like new Alliance ships such as the _Normandy _or _Yorktown_. Sensors managed to see that they were powered by drive cores not unlike the Alliance's as well_, _further confusing Masudo. _What are they? _They weren't armed with Thanix cannons like the _Yorktown _or the _Berlin. _Their dreadnoughts were standard. MACs, torpedoes, and GARDIAN systems, along with broadside cannons.

"Sir, they are still not returning any of our hails. Orders?" _Yorktown's _commander asked. Masudo massaged his forehead. He had been there when the Reapers steamrolled over the fleets. He didn't want to preside over another devastating human defeat. There would be no Commander Shepard to save their collective behinds again.

Before he could issue any orders, the lead cruiser of the unknown fleet fired upon a recon drone with its GARDIAN system, destroying with a boom of light. Seconds after, two interceptors were destroyed when the cruiser fired on it with the same weapon. The rest of the interceptors and drones fled in all directions, losing cohesion. The SSV _Yorktown _and SSV _Berlin _remained unseen and undetected, their stealth drives operating at full capacity to not let the enemy see their heat emissions.

"All ships open fire! Don't let them get to the relay!" he ordered harshly and the communications officer sent off his orders with ease. They were veterans of the Reaper War, used to facing impossible odds. Each one of the crew onboard the dreadnought had fought against the Reapers, faced them with honor, courage, and duty, and would never falter in the face of an enemy.

The first ships to fire were the _Yorktown _and the _Berlin. _Their stealth drives engaged, they dived from their position above the enemy fleet, and fired their Thanix cannons. The _Yorktown's_ Thanix cannon boomed with blue light being shot out, the projectile glowing as it screamed towards its target at a fraction of the speed of light. The molten metal hardened into a projectile with the capability to pierce any shield or armor known to the galaxy.

The projectile slammed into the cruiser, piercing its aft, and blowing through the other side with startling ease. Fires were evident, though the vacuum of space quickly snuffed those out. An inaudible explosion was seen, secondary explosions from the cargo bay adding to the destruction. The cruiser tried to turn and avoid the next fire, but it was too late and the _Yorktown's _second shot went straight through the hull, exited out the other side and left the cruiser to die.

"Gunnery, target lead enemy dreadnought. Sensors, what is the distance between us and the targeted dreadnought?"

"Forty thousand kilometers!"

His own dreadnought's gun fired, the ship slightly shuddering as the Kilimanjaro-class dreadnought, the most powerful ship in the Alliance military, straight at the enemy dreadnought. The gun was more powerful than an Everest-class, able to accelerate a 20 kilogram slug at 4300 kilometers per second, for a yield of 45 kilotons. The kinetic barriers on a dreadnought could handle three to four shots from another dreadnought, but couldn't tank more like a Reaper.

"Shot out!"

The kinetic barriers on the dreadnought blossomed a violent purple as the shot slammed into it. The other four dreadnoughts fired at once, aiming straight at his own ship. That was going to be a problem. But they were thousands of kilometers away and he had ten seconds to avoid it. An eternity.

"Helmsman flank speed and avoid those damn projectiles!" he shouted with fury, his earlier nervousness vanishing. It was his responsibility to guard the approaches to Earth and he would not have another Arcturus Station in the dust. He would not oversee another _defeat! _

The dreadnought groaned as the helmsman swung the massive beast left in order to avoid the four projectiles, using the emergency thrusters. He needed those dreadnoughts taken out before they destroyed his fleet. Otherwise he would lose. With only one dreadnought, he couldn't do much but try and buy them some time.

"Wolf pack _New Orleans, _you are to destroy the dreadnoughts. _Napoleon, _direct your fighters towards the dreadnoughts. We destroy those dreadnoughts, we have a fighting chance!" he said, pounding his fist into his chair. The commanders all gave him "Yes sir!" and went out do their orders. Opening a fleet wide channel he addressed his fellow commanders.

"Those dreadnoughts are the top priority. But we need to safeguard the engineers. _Manila _and _Moscow, _you are in charge of the defense of the station and the engineers. If there is any danger of them breaking through us, then you must flee back to Earth and give them warning. I will not let Earth fall once more!" and with a nod and salutes, the cruisers _Manila _and _Moscow _peeled off from the fleet and headed straight for the refit ships lingering around the station.

The rest of the fleet was opening fire. With the opening salvos being fired by the _Yorktown _and the _Berlin _destroying three cruisers, the frigate wolf packs, more powerful than ever before in history, swooped in to get in kills. Swarms of fighters were unleashed by the _Napoleon, _heading directly into the fire in order to attempt vengeance on the ships that killed their friends. The cruisers opened fire on the frigates attempting to counter the wolf packs heading straight toward their dreadnoughts.

A flight of fighters narrowly avoided a frigate that fired upon them with GARDIAN lasers, hitting two of them and making them smoke. His dreadnought fired upon the other dreadnoughts, but it wasn't going to be enough. He needed to turn this around, before his fleet was smashed.

The _San Diego _and_ San Francisco_ were obliterated as eight slugs from each the dreadnoughts carved into them with their destructive firepower far outside the cruisers ability to withstand. Six hundred navy personnel dead with barely a glance.

He needed some kind of inspirational thought. In a straight up fight, he couldn't fight against this fleet of whoever they were.

_What would the turians do? _Then he had an epiphany.

The turian in the command of the Palaven fleet during the Battle of Palaven had come up with a plan. A short, daring FTL jump straight into the depths of the Reaper fleet, turning their guns at the Reaper capital ships before they could turn. A dreadnought was not that maneuverable. That is why the bugged out when the fleets clashed at knife fighting range. Unless it was at Earth when the asari decided to go straight in there without a single thought. And lost two-thirds of their fleet.

"Nav, plot a jump course right in the middle of their fleet," he said, pointing towards the four dreadnoughts clustered in the middle of their formation, protected by cruiser squadrons. "Right where those dreadnoughts are."

The navigator looked at him with wide open eyes, fear evident in his eyes. The navigator swallowed before trying to dissuade his commanding officer.

"Sir, that would be dangerous...and I don't know if that is-"

The admiral didn't even give him time to finish his sentence. Cutting him off with a sharp look, the navigator hesitated.

"Sir, the coordinates are punched. We are jumping in five...four...three...two...one...jump."

The FTL jump slammed them forward fifteen light years. In a system jump from where he was to where those ships were, they were in the dreadnoughts vicinity in less than three seconds. The transition made them go straight in the eye of the hurricane.

"Sir! We are facing two of the dreadnoughts! Their barriers are down!" the sensors officer relayed to him. He allowed himself a small grin before he gave the order.

"Open fire on those damn things before they wipe out the fleet!"

The gunnery officer obeyed before he fired the main gun. The twenty kilogram tungsten slug shot out. The ship groaned as the thunderous boom was followed by another two seconds after. The first dreadnought didn't get its barrier up in time. All it took was for one slug to completely bisect it, passing through the dreadnought's thick armor like a wave crashing along a beach. The slug overloaded the drive core of the dreadnought, driving it to destruction. With one dreadnought down, the MAC fired at the second dreadnought, who was in the process of trying to raise its barriers.

Too late.

The destruction of the second dreadnought sent the other two into panic mode. They were turning to face him. He couldn't risk the _Aconcagua, _not in this setting. The massive Kilimanjaro-class dreadnought groaned as it absorbed one slug and then another. Ordering his navigator to jump, the dreadnought winked back into FTL and landed right next to Arcturus Station.

"_Napoleon's _fighter squadrons are mopping up their frigate screens sir. Half of their fleet has been destroyed, but we've suffered forty percent casualties. _Houston, Juneau, Beijing, _and _Sydney _and their squadrons have been destroyed. _Vladivostok _and her squadron are making headway, while _Tokyo _and _Caracas _are targeting the dreadnought that is trying to flee. The rest of the fleet is retreating sir. We beat them off."

He watched as the _Caracas _and _Tokyo_, along with their squadrons, continue to advance, their advanced thanix cannons firing. Bright lances of blue raced across the black expanse of space and touched the dreadnought with ease. The thanix cannon had been installed in nearly every Alliance ship save for his dreadnought and most cruisers. _The weapon is devastating. _The dreadnought's barriers flashed, once, then twice. The other dreadnought was still trying to put up a fight, but the admiral could see that it would die. With the _Napoleon's _fighter squadrons wiping out the frigate screens and attacking the cruiser escorts, that dreadnought was doomed to die. He loved the carrier.

"Keep up the pressure. I don't want a single ship remaining in this system!" and the communications officer saluted before relaying his commands to the various ships still remaining.

_We need to end this. _The _Caracas _fired once more, the thanix cannon booming, sending molten metal straight into the side of the enemy dreadnought. This time, there was no kinetic barriers to hold back the damage. Waves of heat rushed over, armor plating boiling and disintegrating as the intense heat overwhelmed the sinks. The dreadnought, without so much a bang than with a whimper, was mission killed, no longer able to operate. A fighter squadron unleashed disruptor torpedoes against a cruiser, overwhelming the GARDIAN systems and sending it to join its bigger brother. The enemy fleet was in full retreat.

"Sir, Eden Prime relay is being activated. They're bugging out for real. Reinforcements are also arriving from the Benning sector and are securing the relay."

He saw twenty-two ships enter from FTL, centered on the cruiser _Veracruz. _The twenty-two Alliance ships swooped in from the left, opening fire from four thousand kilometers. Eight more cruisers were sent to their doom and destroyed before the last of the ships entered the relay and left for Eden Prime, where they would leave for wherever they were going.

The Third Fleet had once again been decimated. Now instead of eighty or more ships in the Arcturus Stream, there were less than forty-five. Most of the destroyed were frigates, along with at least a dozen cruisers. In return, they destroyed over one hundred and fifty ships, including three dreadnoughts. He leaned back in his chair, his hand over his face.

Earth was safe, but could he stand another hit like that? The answer was a simple no.

_What are we going to do now?_


End file.
